Midnight Snacks and Cool Jackets
by PocketRamblr
Summary: "I know. I'm just… I guess I'm tired of being everyone's second choice." he admitted, looking at his hands, his foot tapping at a supersonic speed."At least you're on their list." Jubilee said a bit spitefully, before wincing. "I mean… I know how you feel." She finished lamely.- Peter and Jubilee talk about their feelings, and eat chocolate. (series of oneshots)
1. Chapter 1

Peter sighed as he raided the kitchen for midnight snacks, too engrossed in his own thoughts to hear footsteps behind him.

"Hey" Jubilee said and she grabbed a chocolate bar from the cupboard next to Peter. The speedster turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Hey yourself." Then he hesitated. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." Jubilee shrugged. She hopped onto the counter, using it a chair.

"No, I mean like, 'what's wrong'. You don't normally get up for snacks, 'specially not this late."

Jubilee just looked at him. "I could ask you that yourself. You've been super mopey lately."

"Hey, don't try to turn this on me, JuJu, I asked first." The yellow clad girl just shrugged in reply, and kept staring at him. He sighed. "Fine. Crystal is way more into that Johnny dude than me. I'm not dumb, I can see it in her eyes." He scowled. "Yeah, laugh it up, I'm moping over a girl, ug."

"I'm not laughing." Jubilee said softly, studying her half eaten candy bar intently.

Peter didn't even seem to hear her, he kept venting. "And it's not even just Crystal, every girl I've ever been into falls for someone else after a while, if I'm even lucky enough for them to like me back in the first place. I saw Jean, super powerful, really smart, cute red head. But no, she's into Scott. I don't get it, if she likes losers, I'm a bigger one than him."

Jubilee wanted to tell peter he wasn't a loser, but she couldn't get a word in.

"Betty didn't like me, Amanda would rather be with Robby, Mara was fine dumping me for Kyle. And then there's Ororo, She's practically a goddess, she knows what it's like to be a thief, she is so amazing, but she's too busy trying to get Kurt to notice her to spare a thought for me. Again, I'm more of a freak than he is, so if that's what she like, I'm right here."

"Kurt's not a freak." Jubilee broke in, her quit voice stronger now. "And Ro is cool, but she's hardly a goddess." She added, becoming softer now.

"Yeah." Peter mumbled. "I know he's not a freak. I'm just, I don't know. A bad friend, I guess."

"Just jealous." The girl said wryly. "happens to the best of us."

"I know. I'm just… I guess I'm tired of being everyone's second choice." he admitted, looking at his hands, his foot tapping at a supersonic speed.

"At least you're on their list." Jubilee said a bit spitefully, before wincing. "I mean… I know how you feel." She finished lamely. "not good enough, not good looking enough, not strong enough…"

"Yep" Peter popped the 'p'. "I know you do. I can try setting you up with someone, if you want."

The girl smiled a bit, before looking back at her starting to melt candy bar. "Thanks, but I'm good." She looked back up. "I don't think you should give up on Crystal. She still likes you, and I think you can blow Johnny out of the water. She'll see that soon, I think."

"You talk to her?" Peter asked, taking a bite of his own chocolate.

"Oh, no. just call it a girls-"Jubilee realized she didn't have her snack anymore, and looked back at the one in peters hands. "Intuition." She pointed to the candy. "Give it back."

In a blink she had her chocolate, albeit a bit lighter than before.

"Give what back?" Peter asked, his cheeky mask back up.

Jubilee just smiled, a real one this time. She finished her chocolate silently, then got off the counter. "Just so you know," she said to peter as she threw away the wrapper. "I think your cool. Your good enough, and brave enough to be on the team, and if any girl can't see that she deserves whatever second rate guy she puts before you."

"Thanks Jujubean." Peter paused. "I think I know a guy you'll like, seriously though. Everett Thomas, he's pretty sick."

His friend shook her head. "I'm really good, thanks Pe-"

"And I'll talk to professor wheels about adding you to the team, at least on reserves."

"You really don't have to do that, but do you want me to talk to Crystal?"

"No!" Peter gasped. "I mean, no thanks, but please don't, I need to talk to her myself."

"And I need to get on the team myself." Jubilee shot back. "But thanks for the thought. I'm pretty sure Jeans already brought it up though, and the Professor still said no, so" she shrugged.

"Okay, fine. I won't bring it up to Baldy. But, what if me and Crystal and you and Everett went on a double date. I hear Footloose is supposed to be good, and Crystal would totally go if I bring up you two."

"That... sound fun, actually. Thanks" Jubilee said, moving to leave the kitchen.

"Hey, us cool-jacket-and-eye-wear-on-head-as-accessories people have to stick together, you know." Peter grinned, then quickly hugged her and zoomed off.

Jubilee laughed, then went to bed.

AN: I LIVEEEEE. yes, I am back, and soon I will be posting a full story for XMA, and maybe a colab with my sister.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt internally sighed when he saw Jubilee at breakfast. The girl was wearing a dark green tank top, and a very short miniskirt. It was Saturday, which meant a more relaxed dress code, though she was pushing it. Kurt knew there was nothing wrong with his friend making her own choices- but he didn't like her motives. Beside the outfit not being her style, she was only wearing it an attempt to impress her boyfriend- a student named Aden- who hadn't even noticed. Which was almost incredible, considering Jubilee had been at his side almost entirely for the past two weeks. The look was new though, she had started wearing it last night.

"Why the frown, clown-man?" Peter asked as he materialized next to him.

"What?! Oh, ah, nothing." Kurt said, jerking his gaze back to his French toast. The speedster snorted, and started shoveling in his own large stack of food.

"I saw you staring at Jujubean." Peter said mater-of-factly when he had cleaned his plate a few seconds later. "Hard not to in that, I know, but I really expected more from you, Kurt." Kurt glared at his friend, then dropped it with a sigh.

"That's not it, it's just… it does not suit her at all! And she knows that, but I think… she thinks Aden likes it, but…well… he hasn't really noticed."

Peter nodded. "it really isn't her style, your right… but well, it's not our place to stop her, is it? 'Sorta between her and Aden, ya know what I mean?" but he agreed. After talking to Jubilee all those weeks ago in the kitchen, they had become closer… at least until she started dating Aden. He hardly saw her anymore. And, not that it mattered, but he did really think Everett would be a much better match than Aden. Though, he thought he was a better match than Aden and he saw the girl as a sister, so the bar wasn't that high.

Kurt agreed. "But maybe…" he started, then shook his head.

"What?" Peter asked eagerly.

" _Nein_ , it wouldn't be right."

"So? Tell me anyway!" peter argued. Kurt rolled his eyes, but did.

"Well, what if, maybe, we could have another girl talk to her about it. But, well, I'm not sure if it's any of their place either, so it wouldn't work." Peter nodded. Kurt was right, but Peter made a note to talk to Jean about it later.

* * *

Later that night, Peter ran to the kitchen and opened a cupboard. He heard a muffled gasp behind him, and he saw Jubilee trying to leave the kitchen, a bowl of cheerios in her hand.

"Wait!" Peter called, and Jubilee shushed him.

"People are trying to sleep." She whispered.

Peter blinked, then almost laughed. "Sure, whatever. But, um, I wanted to talk. To you, actually. So can we? Talk?". The words started to rush out of him, and Jubilee took a moment to reply.

"Uh, sure. What's up?" Jubilee carefully but her bowl on the counter, then turned to him fully. Peter took a moment to take her in, wearing normal pajamas in her style. Loose tee-shirt, yellow and pink pants, and her hair in pigtails.

"Well, I don't know, it's just… we haven't gotten to see you much lately. Kurt and Jean miss you, and I do too, a lot, and we know your hanging out with Aden all the time, and that's totally cool, I guess." Peter stopped, he didn't know where to go from here. That it was ok for her to spend time with them anyway? That her boyfriend was a moron of a- no, he should not go there. Jubilee smiled then, just a little.

"Yeah, I do miss you guys too. I've just been busy with Aden, I guess I felt I needed to be around him all the time, stupid of me really." she muttered the last part, then went on. "I guess I was a bit too excited about someone being into me I just abandoned my friends. We're already made plans for lunch tomorrow, but can I still hang out with you guys at breakfast?"

It took Peter a couple of seconds to realize she was actually asking. "What? Of course you can! You don't need to ask; you are our friend still. Honestly, we don't really mind you hanging out with Aden," (technically not true, he thought, but that wasn't the point.) "We just want to be able to hang out with you too, ya know?" (that was true.) "Friends before…" he thought for a minuite, trying to think of a word. "Friends before Romantic Interests." He finished.

Jubilee was silent for a few seconds, trying to convince herself that her speedy friend had actually just said "Friends before Romantic Interests". Then she burst out laughing.

"What?" Peter asked indignantly. "it makes sense, is alphabetically correct, and is gender neutral. It'll be a thing, you'll see." Jubilee grinned at him, then turned her attention to her cereal. She took a couple of bites, then started stirring it around, becoming pensive again. Peter waited for her to speak, but when she didn't, her prodded her. Hey, it's hard for a guy thinking at Mach 110,000 to be patient. "So… whatcha thinking?"

Jubilee sighed, studying the suddenly interesting cheerios. "I'm not sure he'll be a romantic interest for much longer." Peter's eyebrows shot up, but he manages to keep himself quite this time, and Jubilee continued.

"It's just, I don't think he's actually interested in _me_ , if that makes sense. I don't know, I'm probably just acting clingy." Peter wanted to tell her that she was right, and that she should just date someone else, but he knew from Wanda's reactions to his meddling in her love life that Jubilee would probably not appreciate his input.

"Well, it's possible… but if you think that because of how he didn't react to your outfit today, it's probably more because he _is_ interested in you, but not the dress-like-that you. Maybe, I feel bad for saying this, but maybe you should act more like yourself. That's who he asked out, that's who he wants to date. And if I'm wrong, and he's not interested in you, there are plenty of other guys out there, way more deserving of you."

Jubilee groaned. "Yeah, yeah, more fish in the sea and all that. I guess… well, I guess I'm just angry at myself. I turned into the girl who changes for a boy, I told myself I wasn't, and that doing nice things for him wasn't changing, that listening to things I don't really care about or dressing like that wasn't changing. But it was, and he didn't even notice." Peter nodded, not knowing what to say. Jubilee continued her tirade. "It's terrible, 'cuz I would roll my eyes and poke fun of another girl if she did this. I probably have! Gosh, its just- I'm awful! I've been stupid and hypocritical and no wonder I'm not smart enough to be on the team and Aden probably regrets dating me and- ARGGG!" she ended, kicking the wall in frustration. Peter rushed over to her and in a flash he put her empty bowl on the counter and grabbed his friend's hands.

"Jubi, Jubi. First of all, calm down. Yes, I know that is like the least effective way of calming someone down, but I am a loser, after all. Second of all, all that is perfectly normal. It is normal to act different around a guy you like, you just don't need to. It is normal to not know how you will act in a circumstance you have never been in. we all wish we always did the text-book good thing, but we don't. not even Jean, not even Storm. Hell, not even Kurt. And almost never me. Ok, got that? Second- wait, no- third of all, I know how you feel. Do you remember the last time we talked like this? In the kitchen at midnight?"

Jubilee nodded.

"Right, remember how I was being a little sad loser about Crystal liking Johnny? I was moping, jubilee. Moping. I never thought I would whine and cry over a girl, because I never thought I could ever get close enough to care about a girl enough to do that sappy stuff. But I did. I changed because of a girl- and I'm not talking about Crystal. Well, also her, but that's not the point. You. You believed in me, and I changed how I saw myself and my worth because of that. I realized that people were my friends, and that they actually cared, even if I was a sad little adult who steals Twinkies and lives in a basement. And you are a whole lot of a better person than that, ok? So yeah, you aren't perfect. So what? We live in a boarding school for mutants, our principal leads a probably-illegal team of emotionally unstable vigilantes. I still haven't found the guts to tell Eric, the infamous terrorist, that he is my dad, and Raven the Savior of Worlds hasn't told- er, her kid or their father. None of us are perfect! But we are what we need to be. Except maybe my dad, he's a terrorist. Look, my point is that if you can think I'm a good person, you have to believe that you-all of you- are a pretty great one." With that, he let go of his friend, and took a step back.

Jubilee didn't say anything for a very long time, and Peter was sure he had messed up. Jubilee instead washed out her empty bowl and dried it, not looking at him. When she put it in the cabinet, she took a deep, shuddering breath, then turned to face him. There were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling an earnest little smile.

"Thanks Peter. Your right, of course. But, you are an amazing friend. I think I'll try what you said. About being myself." Peter smirked.

"Can you say that again?"

Jubilee tilted her head, very confused. "About you being an amazing friend?"

"No, about me being right, 'of course'. Because I'm always right, but no one ever says that, so." He didn't say 'duh' but it was implied. Jubilee hit him in the shoulder, then laughed louder than she had all night, probably all week. Then, abruptly, she hugged him.

"Really, thank you peter. Your amazing"

"And you're spectacular, Jujubean." He replied, squeezing her tightly. They stood like that for a while, before Jubilee broke out of the hug.

"Thank you. Good night Peter."

"Night Jubes"

"Wait, Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you mean Raven had a kid?"

"Er, goodnight!"

With a _wooosh_ , he was gone, and jubilee shrugged it off. She only knew one blue mutant of the right age, and something told her several people would be very angry if he found out from her. Best to drop it, then.

* * *

Jubilee did eat breakfast with them the next day, and Peter was happy to debut his new set of nick names, ranging from "Jubi-LAME-tion" to "Cy-CLOD" to "Kurt Wag-NERD". Jean did not get a name, mainly because Peter was too smart to say the one he had thought of out loud, though Jubilee cheerily suggested "Peter Knock-it-off", and the whole group tried to think of better ones. The list includes "Peter Maxipad", "Piet-NO" and "Plebian Maximoff." Scott has a longer, not-so-G-rated list.

 **AN: part two, cuz I love these two nerds with their jackets and powers and inability to express their emotions very healthily to their other loved ones. Anyway, BIG-ish NEWS! I will soon be posting the first chapter of Photokenisis, which will be a full length fic. It is X-men movieverse, but these one shots won't go with it or include any of the extra characters from that fic. but you should still go check it out. Also, thanks to my awesome reviewers, ya'll literally made my day!**


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